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Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery by Henry Marsh

Elegant, poetic, often alarming: a neurosurgeon’s candid account of a life wielding the scalpel

Ed Caesar

March 9 2014, 12:01am, The Sunday Times

Henry Marsh: he makes no secret about his irascibility (JAMES KING-HOLMES)

You have a tumour on your brain. A risky operation is required. Which kind of surgeon would you prefer? A tin god, convinced of his lifesaving powers? Or a meticulous veteran, experienced enough to know that your fate owes as much to luck as to his skill? Reading Do No Harm — Henry Marsh’s short, rich memoir about life as a neurosurgeon — I’m unsure. If I were on the table, I might want the person holding the scalpel to think himself a superhero. Marsh has no such delusions. What is more, opened skulls seem to prompt him towards metaphysical reflections.

For instance, he writes: “If the dissection is particularly difficult and intense, or dangerous, I will pause for a while, rest my hands on…

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